by Art Waskey | Dec 18, 2023 | Art of Sales Weekly, Featured
Be a differentiator
The distribution business is built on managing change, building trust, strong relationships, and the ability to find solutions tailored to customers’ needs. The digital marketplace has changed the customer experience. However, today distributors are competing with internet verticals, where relationships are impersonal. By focusing on the customer’s best interest and by staying on the cutting edge of technology, distributors can provide a better customer experience. Moreover, this differentiates them from the internet verticals and enables them to manage the changes in customer behavior.
Sharpen your focus
You have the customer’s trust, now build on it. Your customers won’t use the other verticals if you continue to deliver the best experience. You have the advantage of being more intimately aware of customer needs. Continue to do your homework.
Find the time to view webcasts from the best-in-the-business gurus. These webinars provide insights from top consultants as well as analytics. Distribution Strategy Group, Modern Distribution Management, and the National Association of Wholesalers are three great groups to start with. Additionally, they have daily blogs with industrial news including M&As, earnings, feature articles, events, and up-and-coming webcasts.
Keep digital applications current
Whether you are in the initial stages of your digital journey or are seeking to enhance existing strategies, you must stay current with the rapid changes in the digitalization of your channel. For example, Artificial Intelligence (AI) can serve as a continuous improvement agent. When implemented, AI can optimize and enrich supplier and customer pricing information, relationship content, product selection, promotional strategies, etc.
Managing Change
Managing change is never easy. Navigating the digital customer experience in a rapidly changing world requires time, energy, and financial investment. It demands you have an ongoing focus on delivering the latest product, price, and promotion improvements. Lastly, the challenge is to provide all this in an easy-to-use digital format while continuing to build and strengthen your customer relationships.
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by Art Waskey | Dec 11, 2023 | Art of Sales Weekly, Featured
Digital tools have altered the customer experience. For example, product research, once the realm of the sales rep, is now done routinely by the customer online. So how does the independent distributor, whose business is traditionally relationship-based, compete with the big online verticals? One way is to look outside your company for platforms you can access to strengthen your sales position.
The specialists you need
Within your industrial vertical, some companies and associations specialize in the products and services you need. Specialists include trade associations, buying groups, manufacturers, and software providers. These resources for the independent distributor, when tapped, can increase your product knowledge. They offer information on the latest technologies, continuous improvement tools, marketing techniques, APIs (application programming interfaces), VMI (Vendor Managed Inventory) practices, etc.
In the distribution industry where I worked, one ERP provider commands the market. It provides regular forums for information exchange between themselves and their distributor clients. Furthermore, this ensures that their product enhancements and solutions work within that particular business space. It also reduces the cost of updates to the distributors as the provider spends less time on product development.
Differentiated product knowledge
For the traditional distributor, the ability to provide customers with differentiated product knowledge is its greatest asset. The availability of online research allows customers to look for information on their own, however. However, online research can be overwhelming to a customer. No one wants to waste time getting answers from automated attendants or overly dense web pages. Salespeople can use this problem to their advantage. Reps can do the research and provide product knowledge especially selected for their customers. In the digital world, sales reps need to increase their focus on customer education and product information.
Strengthen your sales position
Maintain your commitment to personal sales relationships and use digital tools to strengthen them. Devote time to building stronger partnerships with key vendors that demonstrate superior products and digital technology prowess. Lastly, use technology to customize and deliver the best product knowledge to your customers. In these ways, you strengthen your sales position in the digital world. Get tips and tricks like the above in The Art of Sales books. Or subscribe to the FREE monthly articles here.
by Art Waskey | Nov 20, 2023 | Art of Sales Weekly, Featured
Changing Customer Relationships
I consult primarily with distributors with revenues of $10 million and below. This group’s success stems from exceptional customer service and quality products. Technology has dramatically changed the way these services are delivered. The salesperson’s regular customer visits to catch up on personal and professional information have been replaced by online communications. With so much material available on the internet for their customers, salespeople struggle to add something technically significant to a discussion. Also, digital interactions broaden the time between sales calls, diminishing a rep’s ability to build strong personal relationships. In addition, these trends are of great concern to my distributor clients. They fear losing their long-term, hard-earned customer relationships to the digital world. An important part of the solution to this problem is to build online confidence.
Adapt to Change
To adapt to the changes in the customer experience, learn how to make these digital interactions work for you. Moreover, look at the widespread adoption of technology as an exciting challenge. Find ways to build trust with your customers that differentiate your distributorship from competitive virtual channels.
Build Online Confidence
We all recognize the need for an online presence in the form of a good website. You can’t stop there, however. You need to continually build online confidence by adding more digital tools.
Today, in addition to a website, any serious distribution business also must have business management software known as ERP (enterprise resource planning). Furthermore, business consultants predict that if you don’t have an operational ERP in the next 12 to 18 months you will not remain relevant in today’s competitive digital world.
A functional ERP gives your sales force rapid access to important tools. It provides inventory accessibility, customer finance engagement, digital product information, and other distribution efficiencies. Your team may show initial resistance to an ERP due to concerns of losing control of their accounts. That is generally quickly overcome by the realization that its application improves customer experiences.
Strengthen the Customer Experience
Lastly, once an ERP is implemented, consider the addition of some third-party APIs (application programming interfaces) for eCommerce. APIs can provide improved product descriptions, pricing, and inventory management. These build your online presence and strengthen your ability to provide a great customer experience.
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by Art Waskey | Nov 14, 2023 | Art of Sales Weekly, Featured
Entering all pertinent business-related information in a daily journal is an invaluable tool. It allows you to be organized in your approach to each task as you work your way through the day. In my long career as senior vice president for sales at a distributorship, my journal served as an important tool in helping to shepherd the growth of our company.
Six actions
Here is an example of a single-page entry from my journal. It describes six actions I recommend you take with your journal.
- Date each day with a pencil and draw a line across the page. In this example, I have done so in two places. I like to add down arrows to further distinguish it as a new day.
- Bring forward unfulfilled previous requests and add them in the left column. Notice the entries for “STAFF” and their notes related to scheduled staff meetings. “Gary” serves as a reminder to send the company’s past president a New Year’s gift. The entries for “Ken” and “Greg” are notes regarding a supplier and a salesperson, respectively.
- List messages and requests including phone calls. When a noteworthy call or personal visit from a potential supplier or customer occurs, be sure to record their phone number and email address. This avoids losing hours trying to recall an encounter later when you might need it.
- Highlight important figures and numbers. This includes pricing or facts that aren’t necessarily transferred to other documents. Highlighting makes entries easier to find.
- Check off all finished business. At the end of the day, review your entries and checkmark those you have completed. This generally brings great satisfaction.
- Date journals when completed. Depending on your daily activity, your journal may take six months to a year to fill. Date them when they are complete and save them for future reference. They are a valuable resource.
Commit to journaling
When business owners complain that they can’t get their projects completed, I often find they don’t use a journal to record their distractions. Record your thoughts and stay focused on what needs to be done next. Using these six easy steps, make a commitment to journaling.
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by Art Waskey | Nov 7, 2023 | Art of Sales Weekly, Featured
Our mind can be likened to an iceberg. The tip of the iceberg represents the relatively small part of our brain which is our conscious mind. This part can only process two or three thoughts at a time. According to a report by Crystal Reynolds, we have approximately 6,000 views per day (How Many Thoughts Do You Have Each Day? And Other Things to Think About, Crystal Reynolds, Healthline, Feb. 28, 2022). Our subconscious, the large part of our brain that sits below the surface, stores up to five million thoughts and memories. The conscious mind acts on the impulses of our subconscious. Effective planning of daily communications is dependent upon our control of the conscious mind.
Journals and Pocket Planners
A daily journal and a pocket planner are two organizational tools that enable you to order your conscious thoughts so that you are free to concentrate on your present tasks. The purpose of both a journal and a pocket planner is to keep written notes in a single place so you can organize your thoughts. Writing thoughts down allows you to do this. With tasks and appointments recorded, you can focus on the job at hand.
In and Out of the Office
Your journal, generally an 8 ½ by 11 inch or 5 by 8-inch spiral-bound notebook, serves as your business command center and usually stays in the office. I prefer the 5 by 8 inch, available at any office supply store. Your pocket planner, on the other hand, slips into your back pocket or purse. It goes with you when business is off-site. It lets you record important information from meetings and events outside the office. When you are in the office, transfer the notes from your pocket planner to the journal so they are in one central place.
Keep Good Records
Writing in a journal and a pocket planner allows you to be more organized with less stress. Here are some suggestions for good record-keeping in your journal.
- Date all entries.
- Note personal requests with names or other pertinent information.
- List all messages and requests.
- Highlight important figures and numbers.
- Include email addresses and phone numbers of people you meet even if you don’t intend to move them into your contact list.
- Check off all finished business.
- Date journals when completed and save them. They provide valuable business history.
Take Control
We need to master the ability to give our undivided attention to the task at hand. Writing thoughts down in your daily journal and pocket planner allows you to do just that. Take control of your mind with a journal and pocket planner, relieve stress, and organize your way to success.
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by Art Waskey | Oct 24, 2023 | Art of Sales Weekly, Featured
Why organize?
What is it that makes being organized a functional way to succeed? To begin, it is important to realize that with every business interaction, your colleagues and customers will feel one of three emotions. They’ll either be delighted, satisfied, or downright disappointed by your actions.
At a seminar given by Bruce Breier of BHB Consulting Services years ago, I learned how to keep your clients happy with organizational tools. Breier says: “It is difficult to delight your customers if you are disorganized at any level.” This is because your associates can feel your disorganization.
Start with good organizational skills
With that in mind, as part of my consulting practice, I begin each assignment by asking the client how he manages key projects. Most share that it takes them too long to achieve results. I find that owners are often juggling 10 to 15 projects at once. My objective is to teach them the organizational skills required to balance their time in order to manage multiple tasks. I start by having them make a mind map that describes each of their projects. Then, I have them prioritize the top five projects with the next steps they need to accomplish for the week. This allows the client to focus on the person or projects most directly at hand.
Use tools
It’s common to have busy days, especially if you’re managing a team. In addition to your regular management tasks, you may have to handle unexpected issues that arise. For example, you may need to resolve a conflict between a sales manager and an underperforming rep or address a customer’s concerns regarding a billing mistake.
Carrying around thoughts of unwritten requests is distracting and you can lose focus. Your body language can make you seem preoccupied. So, in the office put all unscheduled interactions into a daily journal as they occur. Outside the office, enter requests in a pocket planner. All pocket planner notes are transferred to the journal when getting back in the office. By noting all issues in either your daily journal or pocket planner, you avoid distractions. This allows you to give the customer at hand your undivided attention.
Succeed
The use of organizational tools, like mind maps, daily journals, and pocket planners, in business transactions yields delighted customers and associates. Organization is a functional way to achieve success.
